Georges J. Antoun

B.S. Industrial Technology – 1988

Chief Commercial Officer – First Solar

Georges J. Antoun, a UL Lafayette (USL) graduate, has over 25 years of operational and technical experience, including leadership positions at several global technology companies. Georges started his career with NYNEX (now Verizon), as a member of the technical staff at its science and technology division. There, he focused on implementing Integrated Services Digital Networks and calling line identification.

Georges later joined Newbridge Networks, a data and voice networking company, as the director of systems engineering, where he focused on deploying Asynchronous Transfer Mode and frame relay networks.

In 1996, Georges joined Cisco Systems where he served as vice president of worldwide systems engineering and field marketing, vice president of worldwide optical operations, and vice president of carrier sales. At Cisco, his primary focus was building the Internet infrastructure and web based applications currently used today.

Following Cisco Systems, Georges joined Redback Networks, a telecommunications equipment company, as the head of engineering and product management focused on digital subscriber line and subscriber management. He became CEO of the Redback subsidiary and the head of product area IP & broadband networks for Ericsson after its acquisition of Redback Networks. At Ericsson, his department focused on building IP infrastructures and Long Term Evolution networks for various providers.

Currently, Georges is the chief commercial officer for First Solar, a leading manufacturer of thin film photovoltaic technology (solar energy systems), responsible for worldwide sales and project development. He joined First Solar in July 2012 as the company’s chief operating officer focused on product cost, quality, and efficiency.

Georges also earned a master’s degree in information systems engineering from New York University Tandon School of Engineering (NYU-Poly), and has served on various public boards.